You are watching a movie in which one of the characters excitedly claims to have found human remains in Asia dated at 10 million years old. The date was obtained by carbon-14 dating. What is your reaction?

• A. This can't possibly be true because humans weren't around 10 million years ago.
• B. This would be a surprising finding because so far there is no evidence that humans existed that long ago.
• C. This is a perfectly reasonable finding.
• D. This can't possibly be true because the earliest humans came from Africa, not Asia.
• E. This can't possibly be true because carbon-14 dating can only be used back to about 75,000 years.

Answer: (E)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Understand the principle of carbon-14 dating: Carbon-14 dating is a method used to determine the age of an object containing organic material by measuring the amount of carbon-14 it contains. Carbon-14 is a radioactive isotope of carbon that decays over time.
2. Recognize the limitations of carbon-14 dating: Carbon-14 has a half-life of about 5,730 years, which limits its effectiveness to dating objects up to about 75,000 years old. Beyond this time frame, the remaining carbon-14 is too minimal to provide accurate dating.
3. Consider the timeline of human evolution: Modern humans (Homo sapiens) are believed to have emerged around 300,000 years ago. Therefore, any claim of human remains dating back 10 million years would be inconsistent with current scientific understanding.
4. Evaluate the geographical context: The earliest known human ancestors originated in Africa, not Asia. This further challenges the claim of finding human remains in Asia dated at 10 million years old.
5. Conclude based on scientific evidence: Given the limitations of carbon-14 dating and the timeline of human evolution, the claim of finding human remains dated at 10 million years old using carbon-14 dating is scientifically implausible.